Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students
Abstract
:1. Introduction
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- To quantify the degree of resilience and engagement (absorption, dedication and vigour) of a group of university students according to the academic year that they belong to.
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- To graphically represent the sociocentric networks of contact of the three academic years.
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- To identify what level of similarity students have when selecting the places where they share information.
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- To analyse the relationship between the centrality structural variables of the class’s network of contacts and students’ engagement and students’ resilience.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample Description
2.2. Variables
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- Composition variables. Sex and course year were the attributes selected for the present study.
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- Engagement and its three dimensions of absorption, dedication and vigour.
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- Resilience.
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- Centrality structural variables: degree, indegree, outdegree, closeness, eigenvector, and betweenness of each of the participants. By calculating the outdegree, it is possible to represent the links that go from the node to the components of his or her class. Computing the indegree reveals relationships that go from other participants toward the node. We also considered it appropriate to determine degree, which takes both situations into account. In addition, we decided to stipulate the centrality of proximity (closeness), the centrality of intermediation (betweenness) and the degree of influence of each actor (eigenvector) [33].
2.3. Data Collection Instruments
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- Students’ sex and course year.
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- The Connor-Davidson resilience scale, specifically the abridged version by Campbell-Sills and Stein [35], which has been validated for young Spaniards by Notario et al. [36] in 2011: the CD-RISC 10. This instrument, with 10 items, evaluates the level of agreement or disagreement in relation to each of them with a range that goes from 0 to 4.
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- Variables for the structure of the students’ network of contacts. To calculate the centrality of Type 1 Networks (Support and Friendship Networks), we used a limited actor census and a 0 to 4 Likert scale with two items (item 1: to whom you ask for help and item 2: who is your friend), to determine the intensity of the relationship. For Type 2 Networks (where to share information), we offered a list of places (class, library, campus corridors, campus cafe, other cafes, gym, email, and WhatsApp), as well as the possibility of adding options where the respondents felt it appropriate to do so. A Likert scale (from 0 to 4) and two items (item 1: where the academic information is shared and item 2: where they share personal information) were used to measure frequency.
2.4. Procedure
2.5. Data Analysis
2.6. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Study Year | Sex | Total N (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Men N (%) | Women N (%) | ||
First year | 12 (25%) | 36 (75%) | 48 (100%) |
Second year | 8 (18%) | 36 (82%) | 44 (100%) |
Third year | 7 (17%) | 35 (83%) | 42 (100%) |
Total | 27 | 107 | 134 (100%) |
Dichotomization: Support Network | First Dichotomization: Minimum Friendship Network | Second Dichotomization: Intermediate Friendship Network | Third Dichotomization: Maximum Friendship Network | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No presence of support | Presence of support | No presence of friendship | Presence of friendship | No presence of friendship | Presence of friendship | No presence of friendship | Presence of friendship |
0, 1 | 2, 3, 4 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 0, 1 | 2, 3, 4 | 0, 1, 2 | 3, 4 |
Variables | N | Mean | Standard Deviation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Engagement—Absorption | First year | 48 | 3.2748 | 1.03296 |
Second year | 44 | 2.8018 | 1.02480 | |
Third year | 42 | 2.8362 | 0.99771 | |
Total | 134 | 2.9820 | 1.03530 | |
Engagement—Dedication | First year | 48 | 4.8333 | 0.92560 |
Second year | 44 | 4.7545 | 0.76537 | |
Third year | 42 | 4.8810 | 0.70684 | |
Total | 134 | 4.8224 | 0.80549 | |
Engagement—Vigour | First year | 48 | 3.3956 | 1.08313 |
Second year | 44 | 2.9170 | 1.16347 | |
Third year | 42 | 3.0571 | 1.01136 | |
Total | 134 | 3.1324 | 1.09985 | |
Resilience | First year | 48 | 29.42 | 5.181 |
Second year | 44 | 27.57 | 6.241 | |
Third year | 42 | 28.79 | 5.092 | |
Total | 134 | 28.61 | 5.539 |
Network | Engagement | Centrality V. | Pearson C. |
---|---|---|---|
First year. Minimum Friendship Network | Absorption | Outdegree | 0.351 * |
Degree | 0.308 * | ||
Closeness | 0.332 * | ||
Betweenness | 0.403 ** | ||
First year. Intermediate Friendship Network | Outdegree | 0.318 * | |
Degree | 0.286 * | ||
Closeness | 0.291 * | ||
Betweenness | 0.326 * | ||
First year. Maximum Friendship Network | Betweenness | 0.308 * | |
First year. Minimum Friendship Network | Vigour | Betweenness | 0.293 * |
Second year. Intermediate Friendship Network | Absorption | Eigenvector | −0.346 * |
Vigour | Eigenvector | −0.303 * | |
Second year. Maximum Friendship Network | Absorption | Eigenvector | −0.389 ** |
Dedication | Outdegree | 0.303 * | |
Vigour | Eigenvector | −0.350 * | |
Second year. Support Network | Dedication | Degree | 0.315 * |
Absorption | Eigenvector | −0.299 * | |
Third year. Minimum Friendship Network | Vigour | Indegree | −0.317 * |
Third year. Intermediate Friendship Network | Absorption | Indegree | −0.331 * |
Network | Centrality V. | Pearson C. |
---|---|---|
First year. Minimum Friendship Network | Indegree | 0.322 * |
First year. Intermediate Friendship Network | 0.291 * | |
Third year. Minimum Friendship Network | Outdegree | 0.346 * |
Degree | 0.324 * | |
Eigenvector | 0.350 * | |
Third year. Intermediate Friendship Network | Outdegree | 0.400 ** |
Degree | 0.330 * | |
Closeness | 0.342 * | |
Eigenvector | 0.325 * | |
Third year. Maximum Friendship Network | Outdegree | 0.331 * |
Degree | 0.369 * | |
Closeness | 0.309 * | |
Eigenvector | 0.366 * | |
Betweenness | 0.334 * | |
Third year. Support Network | Outdegree | 0.312 * |
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Share and Cite
Fernández-Martínez, E.; Andina-Díaz, E.; Fernández-Peña, R.; García-López, R.; Fulgueiras-Carril, I.; Liébana-Presa, C. Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1488. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121488
Fernández-Martínez E, Andina-Díaz E, Fernández-Peña R, García-López R, Fulgueiras-Carril I, Liébana-Presa C. Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(12):1488. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121488
Chicago/Turabian StyleFernández-Martínez, Elena, Elena Andina-Díaz, Rosario Fernández-Peña, Rosa García-López, Iván Fulgueiras-Carril, and Cristina Liébana-Presa. 2017. "Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 12: 1488. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121488